Doctor Maxius

Originally intended to be an entry into the Sci-fi competition it developed a bit beyond the notion; this story is set in the year 2491 and follows a day of work of Dr. Maxius a scientist, with a darker twist in his agenda than most take notice in as per his job working for the Fuhrer of the socialist republic of Eastern Europe in the days of the Great War.

5. The Sound of Silence

The work had gone well enough by the end of the first day the crew working in hand with Maxius had gotten all the barracks and logistics stations set up and the lab was now 58% operational. The rain had swiftly grown more intense as darkness fell forcing the band of scientists and military men to retreat to the safety of the reinforced tents, and other miscellaneous shelters. Alone in the blistering wind and rain Maxius stood there, seemingly paralyzed by an unseen force; his eyes beheld what was commonly known to many as the Thousand Yard Stare.

"My friend, what troubles you?" came the familiar fwosh of an opening umbrella accompanied by the voice of Klaus. Again he was in an oversized ash colored trench coat with a hood covering his head. From the darkness of the hood only the dull orange glow of his friend's cyborg eye could be discerned from the darkness.

"Trouble? Why must I be troubled to want to sit in the rain?" Maxius replied with a distant expression on his face. his hair was soaked an d plastered to his head, his uniform was ragged with the mud and rain of the land. "Tell me Klaus, you don't ever truly sleep anymore do you?"

"Sleep? Well I-"

"Exactly, ever since the operation the batteries that run your robotic half have also worked to keep you awake, and needless of sleep. I however have been plagued by something preventing me from sleep as well, but it is batteries." He turned away from his friend as he finished his statement. "life is truly a confounding thing isn't it my friend?"

"What troubles you Maxius? I haven't seen you this lost since our childhood so long ago," Klaus was now troubled, this immense sense of sadness and lost sense of purpose was last experienced by his friend when his mother died when he was sixteen, he led himself through quite troubled times then; but, if the feeling was back now how would Maxius deal with the sadness? This is what was truly troubling. As he began to synthesize a thought as to how to help his friend he felt a sudden chill as the wind blew up his back causing him to let go of the umbrella.

"Ah! Forgive me Maxius, I'll go get the umbrella post..." he trailed off for unbeknownst to him Maxius at some point had left him alone. "Damn, so he has wandered off again." turning towards the umbrella on the ground a few yards away he walked towards it with a grim expression on his face. "He has chosen the silent path."

Maxius had grown tired of his friend's listless silence and so he had turned and strode away through the rain to a nearby tent, his home temporarily until the lab could be finished. He closed the flap to the tent and fastened it shut before muddling over to the cot where some basic military issues blankets served as his only source of warmth for now lay perfectly organized. He dowsed the lantern, removed his boots and mud trodden outer layer and sat on the bed. He sat there for a minute or two before shutting down his eye and removing it and the patch from his skull and face, gently placing it on the nightstand beside him. Fastening a normal eye patch to his face as he laid down and dug under the blankets he closed his eye and exhaled.

"And now I lay myself to sleep, pray the Lord for mien soul to keep." he muttered as he shut out all the noise of the outside world. He slowly let himself slip into a semi-conscious state of mind as the perpetual silence enraptured him. However as he tried to push his way into full slumber he found something stopping him; a voice, no a chorus of disembodied voices cried out from the darkness in a low whispering tone. Maxius twitched at the sound of the voices. It played havoc with him as he tried to fend off the onslaught of voices. This was the sound Maxius heard in the void, this was the sound of silence.